Game Thread #80: A’s at Giants

I don’t know what to tell you. The Oakland A’s have a roster full of pretty darn good players. The San Francisco Giants have a roster full of comparatively not as good players, and yet, the Giants won the first two games of this series and have the best record in MLB. It’s the way of the universe in the 21st century, apparently. The Giants could field nine cats in little jerseys and it would still work somehow.

The Bay Area rivals meet one more time on Sunday, with the A’s hoping to avoid a sweep on the road at Oracle Park. They’ll ask Cole Irvin to be their stopper, though he hasn’t quite been at his best in his last two outings (7 earned runs in 10⅔ innings).

Oakland’s lineup will face Sammy Long, making his second career MLB start and fourth appearance overall. The lefty is a local product from the Sacramento area.

A’s lineup (away)

1. RF Ramon Laureano (R)
2. SS Elvis Andrus (R)
3. 1B Matt Olson (L)
4. 3B Matt Chapman (R)
5. LF Chad Pinder (R)
6. 2B Tony Kemp (L)
7. C Aramis Garcia (R)
8. CF Skye Bolt (S)
9. LHP Cole Irvin (L)

Whatever. A Giants fan will probably enter out of the stands to knock the pinch-hit walk-off.

Giants lineup (home)

• LF Austin Slater (R)
• 3B Wilmer Flores (R)
• RF Mike Yastrzemski (L)
• C Buster Posey (R)
• 1B Darin Ruf (R)
• 2B Donovan Solano (R)
• CF Steven Duggar (L)
• SS Mauricio Dubon (R)
• LHP Sammy Long (L)

How To Watch

• Date: Sunday, June 27
• Time: 1:05 p.m. PT
• TV (local): NBC Sports California
• Radio: 960 AM (more listings here)
• Streaming (watch): NBCS website (with cable sub)
• Streaming (listen): A’s Cast